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The BENSON MURDER CASE (Scribner crime classics)

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S.S. Van Dine is a pseudonym for Willard Huntington Wright. THE BENSON MURDER CASE is the first Philo Vance mystery. Vance is an amateur detective and young aristocrat who is a close friend of the new District Attorney, John F.X. Markham. Vance mentions to Markham that he may enjoy going with him on a murder investigation. When Alvin Benson is found slain, Markham invites Vance to join him while he inspects the crime scene. The story is set in a simpler New York City of the roaring twenties before the 1929 stock market crash. This may be the best of the mystery novels written by Van Dine.

This book is the first of Van Dine's mysteries, and it introduces Van Dine's sleuth, Philo Vance. Vance is a wealthy, but rather cynical, connoisseur in the arts and finer things of life. He has another hobby, though, helping the New York assistant district attorney solve complex murders.

This book focuses more on Philo Vance, showing the reader what to expect in the mysteries to follow. S.S. Van Dine, whose real name was Willard Hunting Wright, while writing mysteries, was also an art critic, and it shows in this book. The whole first chapter concerns Vance's view of the art world.

The plot involves that of Alvin Benson who found dea sitting in a chair in his living room. He still has a book in his hand and seems at first glance to be enjoying a leisurely read. It is up to Philo Vance to help the police discover who shot him at close range with a Colt 45 pistol.

The book is rather dated but is also an enjoyable read.